Katrina Robinson

Katrina Robinson (born January 13, 1981) is an American politician who serves in the Tennessee Senate from the 33rd district as a member of the Democratic Party. In 2020, she was indicted on 48 charges relating to the embezzlement of $600,000 from federal grants to her nursing school.

Katrina Robinson
Member of the Tennessee Senate
from the 33rd district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byReginald Tate
Personal details
Born (1981-01-13) January 13, 1981
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children2[1]
RelativesLorenzen Wright (brother-in-law)[2]
EducationUniversity of Memphis (BBA)
Union University (BSN)

Early life

Katrina Robinson was born on January 13, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2008, she attended the University of Memphis and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing management. In 2010, she graduated from Union University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.[3]

Career

In 2015, Robinson founded The Healthcare Institute, a nursing college, and received $1.6 million in grants from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. She received a total of $2.2 million in federal grants from 2015 to 2019.[4][5] The Healthcare Institute started with two students and later expanded to over six hundred students.[6]

Tennessee Senate

In 2018, Robinson was elected to the Tennessee Senate from the 33rd district as a member of the Democratic Party.[7] On January 29, 2018, Robinson announced that she would run in the Democratic primary. She defeated incumbent Senator Reginald Tate in the Democratic primary and faced no opposition in the general election. Tate had been censured by the Shelby County Democratic Party and Robinson was endorsed by United States Representative Steve Cohen and Senate Minority Leader Sara Kyle.[8][9][10]

Criminal charges

In 2016, an investigation into Robinson was started after an anonymous complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services reported that she had used $550 of federal grant money to purchase a Louis Vuitton handbag.[11] On February 21 and July 28, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants at Robinson's house and nursing school.[2][12] On July 30, Robinson was indicted on 48 charges, 24 charges of theft and embezzlement from government programs, and 24 charges of wire fraud, by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.[4]

Robinson was accused of stealing $600,000 from $2.2 million in federal grants given to her nursing school from 2015 to 2019. She is the first sitting member of the Tennessee Senate to be indicted since Operation Tennessee Waltz in 2005.[13]

On August 12, she plead not guilty.[14]

Electoral history
2018 Tennessee Senate 33rd district Democratic primary[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Katrina Robinson 14,164 68.66%
Democratic Reginald Tate (incumbent) 6,464 31.34%
Total votes 20,628 100.00%
2018 Tennessee Senate 33rd district election[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Katrina Robinson 42,992 68.66%
Total votes 42,992 100.00%

References
  1. "Q&A: Tennessee Senator Katrina Robinson". January 30, 2019. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  2. "FBI searches home and nursing school founded by Tennessee state Sen. Katrina Robinson". WMC-TV. February 21, 2020. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  3. "Katrina Robinson's Biography". Vote Smart. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020.
  4. "State Sen. Katrina Robinson indicted on 48 counts of theft, embezzlement, wire fraud". The Commercial Appeal. July 30, 2020. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  5. "2016 YOUNG MEMPHIS: KATRINA ROBINSON". Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  6. "SBA Spotlight: Katrina Robinson, CEO of The Healthcare Institute (video)". July 11, 2019. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  7. "Grand jury indicts Tennessee state senator on theft charges". Associated Press. July 30, 2020. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  8. "Katrina Robinson Formally Announced Intention to Run for Tennessee District 33 State Senate Seat at Campaign Kickoff Event Saturday, January 27". Morris Marketing Group. January 30, 2018. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  9. "Three incumbents booted from Tennessee General Assembly in Thursday primary". The Tennessean. August 3, 2018. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  10. "The 9:01: Democrats censure Sen. Tate for 'vulgar' remarks". The Commercial Appeal. July 19, 2018. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
  11. "Tennessee State Senator Embezzled $600,000 in Federal Money, U.S. Says". The New York Times. July 29, 2020. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  12. "FBI agents sent to home of State Sen. Katrina Robinson, agency confirms". WHBQ-TV. July 28, 2020. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  13. "The 901: Robinson is first Memphis senator indicted since Tennessee Waltz". The Commercial Appeal. July 31, 2020. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020.
  14. "Sen. Katrina Robinson pleads not guilty to charges". WREG-TV. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020.
  15. "2018 primary results page 4" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2020.
  16. "2018 election results page 5" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2019.
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